- Russia: Car Bomb Kills Soldier Near St Petersburg in Latest Targeted Assassination
Source: US News & World Report
“A Russian military serviceman was killed after the car he was driving was blown up in the Pushkinsky District of St Petersburg, investigators said in Thursday. ‘Investigative authorities have opened a criminal case into the murder of a member of the armed forces,’ a statement from Russia’s Investigative Committee said. Video showed that military police had sealed off the area as investigators and forensic scientists worked at the scene. A bomb-damaged dark blue SUV with its doors, boot and bonnet open stood on a road littered with blast debris next to what looked like an empty passenger bus which appeared to have also suffered damage. Russia has blamed Ukraine for previous assassinations of senior military officials and people linked to Moscow’s war effort.” (11/12/26)
- As Top Dems Waver, Van Hollen and Khanna Work to Axe Funds for Iran War
Source: Common Dreams
“As leading Democrats express hesitation about using an upcoming fight over government funding to cut off money for President Donald Trump’s illegal Iran war, Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Ro Khanna are pushing their party to act boldly against a conflict that spurred massive backlash against the GOP at the ballot box last week. The Washington Sun reported Wednesday that Van Hollen (D-MD) and Khanna’s (D-CA) call for Democrats to withhold their support for any government funding package unless it excludes money for the Iran war is ‘hitting resistance from senior members of the party’. The outlet cited several top Democrats, including Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, and other lawmakers who have voiced skepticism about potentially sparking a government shutdown over war funding just weeks after the midterms.” (11/12/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/van-hollen-khanna-iran-war-funding
- FL: City says new GOP-backed DEI law blocks St Patrick’s parade, Pride event
Source: Fox News
“A Florida city says it cannot host its annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade or Pride event in 2027 because of a new Republican-backed state law restricting local governments from funding, promoting or taking official action related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Officials in Delray Beach announced the decision Tuesday, citing restrictions on ‘certain programming and activities designed or implemented with reference to ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity.’ … The law prohibits counties and municipalities from funding or promoting DEI initiatives, directly or indirectly, or taking certain official actions related to them, including adopting ordinances, resolutions, rules, regulations, programs or policies.” (11/12/26)
- European city regimes demand total EU ban on cigarette filters
Source: Politico
“Major cities across Europe are calling on the EU to ban the sale of filters in cigarettes, saying the plastic-based stubs have no health benefits and are the single biggest cause of urban litter. Brussels, Munich, Dublin and Genoa are among the city governments that have joined the No (Plastic) Filter campaign, an initiative driven by the Dutch government, along with local municipalities, water authorities and green groups. They argue that the EU’s ‘extended producer responsibility’ schemes — rules requiring tobacco companies to pay for cleanup — have failed to curb pollution from cigarette filters and that an outright ban is needed.” (11/12/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/european-cities-demand-total-eu-ban-cigarette-filters
- Pope tells Peru bishops to accompany their flocks & respond to abuse victims with truth, justice
Source: SFGate
“After his emotional homecoming, Pope Leo XIV got down to work Thursday telling Peru’s Catholic bishops to accompany their flocks as they face poverty and injustices, and respond to victims of clergy sexual abuse with truth, justice and amends. Leo made it clear he knows the Peruvian church and people well in his opening events in Lima, identifying some of the biggest challenges facing them and calling the influential Catholic hierarchy especially to task to be models of unity and communion. Peruvians turned out in droves to catch a glimpse of Leo, with crowds outside the church residence where he is staying and an even bigger gathering at the central Plaza Mayor where he had his first events Thursday. Leo thrilled them by looping around the plaza in his popemobile.” (11/12/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/pope-leo-gets-down-to-business-in-peru-after-22526949.php
- US attorney demands Blumenthal preserve ballroom probe documents
Source: United Press International
“A U.S. attorney with the Justice Department demanded that Sen. Richard Blumenthal preserve all documents concerning his investigation into potential conflicts of interest stemming from the Trump administration’s drive for private donations to construct the White House ballroom, accusing the Connecticut Democrat of threatening American citizens for associating with President Donald Trump. ‘In recent weeks, you have threatened citizens for associating themselves with the president and other public officials. Yet, the ‘freedom to engage in association for the advancement of beliefs and ideas is an inseparable aspect’ of our Constitution and way of life,’ U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz of the Southern District of Texas said in a Wednesday letter addressed to Blumenthal.” (11/12/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/11/12/DOJ-Blumenthal-ballroom-project/5111794462530/
- Indonesia: Vice president resigns amid dispute over eligibility
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Indonesia’s vice president has resigned in the midst of a scandal over his high school diploma, adding pressure on a government facing widespread dissatisfaction over the economy, corruption and wildfires. Gibran Rakabuming Raka submitted his resignation to President Prabowo Subianto and parliament on Thursday, the speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly told reporters. … Under Indonesia’s Constitution, a vice presidential vacancy does not trigger a new election. The office remains vacant until the People’s Consultative Assembly elects a replacement from two candidates nominated by the president within 60 days.” (11/12/26)
- Annual Fundraiser: The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves
THANK YOU to subscribing contributor BT, whose $2.50 monthly donation yesterday saved us from a “zero-dollar day” and brings our annual fundraister total to (as of 5am) $1,289.50!
We’re about 47% of the way through our 92-day “annual fundraiser window,” and about 47% of the way to our goal … technically “on track,” but the faster we get there, the sooner I can stop bothering you about it every day.
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Another sweetener: GL usually pays his pledged half in Bitcoin, and it’s my impression that Bitcoin’s price is at or near its current bottom — so wrapping this fundraiser up early would likely result in a “bonus” as the value of that second half goes up after we receive it.
That URL again:
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Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily - Massie forces new Epstein files showdown
Source: Axios
“Outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) secured the 218 signatures needed to force another House showdown over the Jeffrey Epstein files Wednesday, just one day after fellow Republicans blocked his attempt to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Congress overwhelmingly voted last year to force the release of the Epstein files, but survivors and lawmakers say the Trump administration has still withheld records. The new bill would give them the power to sue the DOJ and help state prosecutors pursue investigations. Massie announced Wednesday afternoon that his discharge petition for the Epstein Files Transparency Act II had reached the required 218 signatures. … Massie’s petition is expected to become eligible for a floor vote by early December, with more than enough legislative days remaining under the House’s current schedule.” (11/11/26)
https://www.axios.com/2026/11/11/massie-epstein-files-second-vote
- Russia-Ukraine talks turn to post-war security but end without breakthrough
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi between Russia, Ukraine and the US aimed at ending the war in Ukraine have concluded after a second day. Although the American side said they saw ‘some openings’, there was no hint of any breakthroughs to end the nearly five year-long war sparked by Russia’s invasion. … Both Moscow and Kyiv confirmed that a large-scale prisoner of war exchange was in the works and could be carried out soon. After the talks it was announced that on Thursday US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – President Donald Trump’s son-in-law – would travel to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, and then to Dublin to speak to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky. This latest round of talks had been framed as centred around the ‘security architecture’ of Europe.” (11/11/26)
- MS: Hyde-Smith Concedes to Colom in US Senate Race
Source: New York Times
“Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, Republican of Mississippi, conceded to Scott Colom, a Democrat, in a video posted to social media on Wednesday evening. … Colom’s win means Democrats will hold at least 55 Senate seats at the start of the next Congress. The contest in Alaska, in which the Democrat Mary Peltola has a narrow lead, is the last remaining Senate race in which a winner has not been declared.
Ms. Hyde-Smith, the first woman to represent Mississippi in Congress, was first appointed to the Senate to fill a vacancy in April 2018.” (11/11/26) - Bitcoin Core reveals bug that made thousands of nodes trust any stranger on Tor
Source: CoinDesk
“Strangers connecting through Tor could bypass spam and privacy protections on thousands of bitcoin nodes because the software treated them as trusted computers. Bitcoin Core published a formal security advisory on Tuesday, about 13 months after releasing a fix. The code change had been public on GitHub since September 2025, under a title explicitly saying whitelist permissions should not apply to incoming Tor connections. The flaw was one of three developers disclosed Tuesday, all patched in releases issued last October. Another could leave a mining node unable to build blocks until its operator restarted it.” (11/12/26)
- Iranian Regime Says It Struck Omani Island That Helps Guide Ships Through Hormuz’s Southern Route
Source: Marine Insight [India]
“Iran has claimed a strike on Didamar, a small rocky island belonging to Oman at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, according to reports on Tuesday. Iran’s military said that personnel on the island were ‘helping the flow of oil smuggling by the enemy’. An unnamed official of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy told Iranian state media that navigational aid systems in the south of the Strait of Hormuz were destroyed. The official added that no vessels that Iran considers unauthorised passed through the route overnight. Oman confirmed that a loud explosion was detected at the base on the island.” (11/11/26)
https://www.marineinsight.com/iran-strike-omani-didamar-island-hormuz/
- Suspected bomb threat hoaxes prompt evacuation of Italian schools, alarm in UK and Ireland
Source: CNN
“Hundreds of schools across Italy were evacuated on Wednesday after bomb threats were sent to about 6,300 institutions, becoming the latest in a series of incidents targeting infrastructure across Europe. Schools in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland also received emails Wednesday, although police warned these were likely hoaxes and education facilities were not evacuated. … Last week, a string of hoax bomb threats disrupted dozens of flights and targeted media organizations across the continent. And in the last few weeks, cyberattacks have hit supermarket refrigeration systems in France, Sweden, Belgium and Ireland.” (11/11/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/11/11/europe/italy-europe-bomb-threat-intl
- White House confronts Democrats over planned probes, claiming they may be “blatant criminality”
Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press
“The White House has issued a warning to Democrats over their planned probes into the Trump administration, going as far as claiming that such investigations — a standard oversight function of Congress — may amount to ‘blatant criminality.’ White House counsel Will Scharf issued the warning in a letter dated Monday to Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. Garcia most likely would chair the powerful panel in the new Democratic-controlled Congress that is seated in January. Garcia warned Trump officials to ‘lawyer up’ after his party’s stunning victories in last weeks midterm elections. … Garcia said in response to the letter that ‘it appears Donald Trump has something to hide’ and stressed that Congress’s investigative powers do not need the ‘permission of the White House.'” (11/11/26)
- Spain: Millions join first general strike in 14 years
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Millions of people across Spain have joined the country’s first general strike in 14 years, setting up picket lines to protest against soaring housing prices before an election in which the far right could be catapulted into power. At the centre of Wednesday’s nationwide 24-hour stoppage, singularly backed by the country’s largest unions as well as tenants’ associations, is a pushback against Spain’s deepening housing crisis. … Many schools and universities were reportedly closed or working at minimal capacity. In Madrid, the labour action added to an ongoing strike by teachers that began nearly a month ago to demand better working conditions. In Barcelona, workers set up roadblocks – some with burning tyres – as public transport came to a near-standstill. In Madrid, scuffles broke out between picketers and police near the country’s main wholesale market, while demonstrators dragged large recycling bins on to the streets to block traffic.” (11/11/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/nov/11/spain-general-strike-housing-costs
- AK: Peltola surpasses combined Dan Sullivan votes after latest drop
Source: The Hill
“Former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) on Tuesday surpassed the combined vote total of Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and independent Dan J. Sullivan following the latest ballot drop in the to-be-determined Senate race. Peltola expanded her narrow lead over the incumbent, with 49 percent of the vote to the incumbent’s 47.2 percent, as of 11:13 p.m. EST on Tuesday; 84 percent, or 245,470, of the ballots have been counted so far, according to unofficial results from Alaska’s Division of Elections. Dan J. Sullivan received 4,027 votes, or 1.7 percent. … The state, under ranked-choice voting, will hold an instant runoff election if neither candidate collects 50 percent of the first-choice votes. The process repeats until a candidate notches the majority.” (11/11/26)
- Violent protests in Bangladesh as Sheikh Hasina supporters take to streets
Source: United Press International
“At least one person was killed in protests across Bangladesh by supporters of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina calling for her to be allowed to return to the country from India where she has been living since being toppled in a popular uprising in 2024. Student activists of Hasina’s banned Bangladesh Chhatra League blocked roads on Tuesday, set vehicles on fire and clashed with police who fired tear gas and rubber bullets, including in Faridpur, 40 miles southwest of Dhaka, where a 60-year-old bus driver was killed after his vehicle was torched. Dozens of improvised explosive devices were reported to have detonated in Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh since the Bangladesh Embassy in Delhi rejected an application by Hasina’s lawyers for a new passport and identity card to allow her to return to Bangladesh.” (11/11/26)
- Trump says towering arch he wants to be build might be dedicated to military veterans
Source: SFGate
“President Donald Trump observed Veterans Day by suggesting that the towering arch he wants to build in his own honor would also be dedicated to the U.S. military and those who served in its ranks. That’s despite three veterans having sued to stop the project — which a federal court has since temporarily blocked. Some military groups have cheered the arch, but many others have opposed it or joined efforts to stop construction. Trump has said for months that the 250-foot (76-meter) arch set for construction near Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial would be inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and might even be called the ‘Arc de Trump’. He’s also insisted that Washington has wanted a similar structure for centuries …” (11/11/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/trump-says-the-towering-arch-he-wants-to-be-build-22525521.php
- Kennedy family members ask federal judge to halt Trump’s planned Arlington memorial arch
Source: Fox 5 DC
“Nine members of the Kennedy family asked a federal judge Tuesday to halt President Donald Trump’s planned memorial arch, saying the 250-foot monument would cast a shadow over relatives’ burial plots at Arlington National Cemetery. The monument’s shadow would ‘fundamentally alter the experience of visiting the gravesites,’ according to court filings submitted by the relatives. They moved to intervene in a pair of pending lawsuits aimed at stopping the arch’s construction. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued an order last week barring the Trump administration from beginning site work for 14 days. The nine plaintiffs represent descendants of Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy, both former U.S. senators and brothers of assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Their plots are near the eternal flame marking JFK’s resting place.” (11/11/26)
- Trump and MAGA Are Still Making Up Election Conspiracy Theories
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye“On election night, Donald Trump called Fox News and congratulated Democrats. Six days later, he was shitposting on Truth Social, asking whether anyone believed the election was honest. He claimed that early vote ‘dumps’ were so large that Republicans couldn’t win no matter how many people showed up on Election Day. ‘It’s all about the machines,’ he wrote. He offered no evidence that machines changed votes or that any of those early ballots were fraudulent. Trump had spent months telling Republicans to treat the midterms as a vote on him. The country did.” (11/11/26)
https://exiledpolicy.substack.com/p/trump-and-maga-are-still-making-up
- Don’t Ever Give Liberals an Inch and Never Let Up on Them
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter“Back in 1980, boxer Roberto Durán famously threw in the towel after a beating from Sugar Ray Leonard by waving his hand and saying ‘No más!’ (no more!). He was done, out of gas and hurting. Over the next few years, we can expect to hear a similar sentiment from many leftists, as conservatives sharpen our elbows and pummel them with the rules they’ve created and used against us. Make them hate it, make them cry ‘No más!’ and, even as they beg, never, ever let up on them.” (11/12/26)
- Imperfect Witness
Source: Quillette
by Jay Beecher“The testimony of Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre was seldom examined with the scrutiny that the gravity of her allegations deserved.” (11/11/26)
- Remember the Midterms? It Sure Seems Like Congress Doesn’t
Source: Daily Beast
by David Rothkopf“Remember last week’s election? The one just a few days ago? The one representing a massive earthquake in American politics? Well, the president doesn’t. The GOP on Capitol Hill doesn’t. And many Democrats don’t seem to. And a whole bunch of pundits don’t. Despite results that marked the biggest electoral shift in House races since the mid-1970s, with the victories of countless candidates whose message was a promise of change, a condemnation of corrupt leaders, a corrupt political system, and a rigged economy that offers ever greater riches for the rich and a smaller and smaller piece of the pie to most of society… despite all that, we are seeing denialism on an epic and dangerous scale.” (11/11/26)
- Pentagon, Inc.
Source: The Intercept
by Rebeca Gordon“By buying up stakes in private companies, the Defense Department could become an independent, and vastly wealthy, behemoth.” (11/11/26)
https://theintercept.com/2026/11/11/hegseth-pentagon-investment-bank/
- SCOTUS, Trump’s Legacy, and the Long Game
Source: Independent Institute
by William J Watkins, Jr.“Trump could win a bigger legacy by sparking a national debate on reining in the Supreme Court’s power.” (11/11/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/11/11/trumps-legacy-long-game/
- Democrats Should Cut a Deal With Trump
Source: The Atlantic
by Chaim Saiman“On Election Night, Representative Robert Garcia, the incoming chair of the House Oversight Committee, described one agenda that congressional Democrats could pursue over the next two years: investigating the ‘Trump Crime Family,’ as his office put it in a statement. His message was, ‘Lawyer up.’ This tack would be a mistake. The new Democratic majorities should instead take advantage of the fissures now emerging between President Trump and his party to pursue their own legislative goals.” (11/11/26)
- The New Right Can’t Run Away from Trump
Source: The Dispatch
by Jonah Goldberg“Oren Cass blames Reaganites for problems his own movement created.” (11/11/26)
https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/gfile/the-new-right-cant-run-away-from-trump/
- When Immigration Fear Becomes a TikTok Influencer’s Alleged Business Model
Source: The American Prospect
by Adelle Nazarian“Fear has become a currency in America’s immigration system, and two federal lawsuits raise the disturbing question of whether it is being monetized. Camila Overmyer, an Indiana-based beauty influencer turned immigration commentator, is accused of using Spanish-language TikTok livestreams to convince frightened immigrants seeking humanitarian relief that their lawyers may have implicated them in fraud. The complaints allege that she solicited contracts, immigration records, and sworn statements while directing viewers toward competing attorneys. One lawsuit further alleges that Overmyer acknowledged receiving commissions when referrals became paying clients. The allegations remain contested, but they expose a danger larger than any dispute among law firms: What happens when someone without identified legal training gains immigrants’ trust, undermines their existing counsel, and may profit from directing them elsewhere?” (11/12/26)
- Congress Must Stop Arming Israel
Source: Foreign Policy
by Omar Shakir“For Israeli authorities and their supporters, maintaining the flow of U.S. arms to Israel is far more important than who pays for them. If Israel—rather than U.S. taxpayers—pays for a bomb, that does not mitigate the bomb’s impact when Israel drops it on a Palestinian family. The United States will remain complicit in Israeli genocide and apartheid as long as U.S. arms keep flowing. The new Congress should end all U.S. arms transfers to Israel. It can start by removing the $3.8 billion in military aid from fiscal 2027 appropriations and by blocking supplemental military funding.” (11/11/26)
- How to Rig an Election, If You Ran the Ballot Board
Source: Libertarian Party
by Sean Sparkman“Say you’re a Republican, and you’re in charge of the Early Voting Ballot Board. That’s the room where mail and provisional ballots get accepted or rejected, and where the post-election hand count gets done. Say you’d like that room a little less crowded with witnesses. And if anybody complains about irregularities? Easy. Call them a sore-loser Democrat. You have one problem. Texas law. Section 87.002(c) says the board needs the same number of members from each party’s list. Worse, every member swears an oath never to handle ballots alone, only alongside someone from another party. Annoying. So here’s the playbook.” (11/11/26)
https://lp.org/how-to-rig-an-election-if-you-ran-the-ballot-board/
- The Cruel Irony of Veterans Day
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe“In the 1950s, President Eisenhower officially changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day. That was done ostensibly, and somewhat understandably, to include veterans of WWII and Korea in the ceremonies. But with that shift, the holiday’s center of gravity moved from celebrating the end of a particular war to honoring veterans of all wars. And over time, after each major war, the holiday’s meaning widened from the initial grateful recognition that a war was over to something of a spotlight for politicians to stress that military service is itself glorious, which has made each next war easier to sell. And make no mistake, that is precisely what the hawkish politicians and establishment voices we hear today are doing.” (11/11/26)
- How Britain is pricing free speech out of citizens’ reach
Source: spiked
by Michael CR Reiners“Kristie Higgs lost her school job in January 2019 over Facebook posts expressing her Christian beliefs about sex and education. In February 2025, the Court of Appeal held her dismissal unlawful. It therefore took more than six years to establish that she should not have been sacked. Before congratulating ourselves on the strength of British free-speech protections, we might consider how many people could afford to wait that long. Britain possesses a remarkable variety of mechanisms by which it can ruin you for speaking your mind. Criminal prosecution is the most conspicuous. For someone with a professional qualification, a complaint to the profession’s regulator may be quite sufficient. For an employee, the threat of dismissal does the work.” (11/11/26)
- Culture Makes America Great
Source: The Daily Economy
by Donald J Boudreaux“Immigration skeptics fear newcomers will ruin America, but corruption of our constitutional order has come mostly from within.” (11/11/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/culture-makes-america-great/
- The Ethical Egg
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“Politics and government have long been muddied by a chicken-or-egg issue. Which came first, people with good morals or the just institutions that nurture good people? Economist and social theorist Deirdre N. McCloskey surprised me, just a bit, by coming down hard on one side of the question last week. ‘It is ethics, good or bad, that guides pretty much all human relationships, from a marriage or a small circle of friends to a sports team, a business, or a nation-state,’ she wrote, adding that ‘well-designed laws, courts, catechisms, extrinsic motives, social approval, and even a few good and decent people are of no avail if too many people do not behave like self-respecting and other-respecting adults.’ While this sure seems true, I note that her fellow economists have been preaching the preeminence of proper incentives and disincentives to channel good outcomes. For a long, long time.” (11/11/26)
- The Christian Nationalists Have a Plan
Source: The Atlantic
by Ali Breland“Joel Webbon has a six-year plan to usher in the first Christian-nationalist president, and he’s sticking to it. Although some on the far right were shaken by last week’s rout of Republicans at the polls, seeing it as a setback for their own agenda, Webbon told me last week that he sees it as validation. Conveniently enough, the first phase of Webbon’s plan required that Republicans lose the midterms, getting rejected by voters after starting a wildly unpopular war that exacerbated the cost-of-living crisis. … Phase 2: Recruiting James Fishback to run in the 2028 Republican presidential primary. Fishback is a 31-year-old Floridian who ran a racist and anti-Semitic campaign in an unsuccessful GOP primary bid to be Florida’s governor. … Fishback would be too young to meet the minimum presidential age of 35, but that does not matter to Webbon, because victory is not the point.” (11/11/26)
- Trump Wins Major Ruling in Defamation Lawsuit Against BBC
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC for defamation just received a green light from a federal judge to go forward to trial. Judge Jeffrey Kuntz (S.D. Fla.) ruled in Trump v. BBC that the media outlet must stand trial for splicing together lines from Trump’s January 6th speech to make it seem more violence-inducing before the riot at the Capitol. Judge Kuntz, however, rejected a claim under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. The biggest challenge for the court may be whether it can seat jurors who can overcome the case’s underlying political elements. … As a torts professor, I was critical of some past filings by the President that pursued overbroad or flawed defamation claims. BBC was different. It involved an act that is anathema to ethical journalists: cutting lines from different parts of a tape and then joining them as if they were stated together.” (11/11/26)
https://jonathanturley.org/2026/11/11/trump-wins-major-ruling-in-defamation-lawsuit-against-bbc/
- Net Zero Is Falling Apart, One Target at a Time
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Ross Clark“This week it seems that another Net Zero domino will fall. The Government is reported to be on the point of announcing that the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which lays down targets for the sale of new cars, will be watered down. This follows a consultation launched in August. At present, manufacturers are under an obligation to ensure that a rising percentage of their vehicles are pure electric or else face punitive fines of up to £12,000 for every petrol and diesel vehicle they sell over the limit. … The UK car industry is falling well short of the targets, in spite of offering large incentives on electric vehicles. 26.6% of new cars sold in Britain so far this year have been pure electric. The industry also fell short of the 22% and 28% targets in 2024 and 2025 but largely avoided fines because of get-out clauses which made some allowance for increased hybrid sales.” (11/11/26)
https://fee.org/articles/net-zero-is-falling-apart-one-target-at-a-time/
- How the MAGA map cracked
Source: Semafor
by David Weigel“Every political coalition falls apart eventually, unless you’re running the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan or something. Barack Obama’s 2008 win led Democrats into some dizzy daydreams about a ‘permanent’ majority that Republicans could only temporarily defeat. ‘Obama doesn’t need right-leaning whites anymore,’ Ron Brownstein wrote in 2013, after Democrats won a second presidential election with a minority of white voters but a supermajority of non-whites. For a long time, both parties wondered if Trump had built something sturdier than that. … But neither theory of the electorate worked without voters who believed their vote was protecting their way of life – culture and costs.” (11/11/26)
https://www.semafor.com/article/11/11/2026/how-the-maga-map-cracked
- Screw The Troops, And Other Notes
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is claiming that anyone who opposes Trump’s warmongering hates ‘the troops’. ‘If you want to take issue with what we did in Epic Fury or Rough Rider or NAB and Nicolas Maduro, you’re taking issue with the troops and what they accomplished,’ Hegseth told the press on Monday. If you’re too young to remember 2003, this was the line they used the last time the White House started an unwinnable war in the middle east. If you hate the war, you hate The Troops. And we all know you’re not allowed to hate The Troops. You MUST love the imperial stormtroopers. It’s such shitbrained war propaganda. Yes, absolutely fuck the war. Absolutely fuck every single person who chose to enter into this ridiculously unprovoked war of aggression. And hey, fuck The Troops too while we’re at it.” (11/12/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/11/12/screw-the-troops-and-other-notes/
- The Nature of Social Security Has Not Changed
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“The Social Security Act was instituted in 1935 as the cornerstone of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Although many changes in the Social Security program have taken place over the years, the nature of Social Security has not changed. … the nature of Social Security remains that of an intergenerational, income-transfer, wealth-redistribution welfare program that takes money from those who work and gives it to those who don’t.” (11/11/26)
https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/the-nature-of-social-security-has-not-changed/
- Are They Ignorant, Selfish, Apathetic … or Just Plain Evil?
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis“When speaking of Democratic Party politicians, the answer to the question in the title is very easy: they are just pure evil. Some of them, yes, do fall into the other categories as well, but the people who advocate and urge evil (more on that in a moment) are evil. And every Democrat politician supports incredibly, vile, evil things. But when we are talking about the various people who vote for the Democrats, the motives and rationales are not always so uncomplicated. I base this article on a recent Breitbart headline: ‘Democrat Who Said Trump Supporters Belong in Concentration Camps on Track to Win North Caroline House Seat’. This is, of course, appalling, horrifying, revolting, and, yes, pure, 100% evil. There is no other word for it.” (11/11/26)
- What it means to serve a country that doesn’t know its military
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Adam Weinstein“It is Veterans Day again, which means that, alongside the free red, white, and blue pancake specials and complimentary coffees, Americans will post tributes honoring the ultimate sacrifice of our soldiers. Just as predictably, on Memorial Day, veterans will receive well-intentioned messages thanking them for their service. Of course, Memorial Day honors those who died while serving in the U.S. military, whereas Veterans Day recognizes all who have served. This confusion is hardly something to get worked up about in itself. But it is symptomatic of something more consequential: a nation detached from its military and the wars it fights.” (11/11/26)
- Hegseth Impeachment Debacle Latest Example of Jeffries’s Awful Leadership
Source: Common Dreams
by Martin Burns“The US House of Representatives on Tuesday night, with a 211 to 204 margin, voted to refer the impeachment charges against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to a committee, allowing Republicans to slow the process so that the current Congress would not be able to take them up. There are procedural options that would allow impeachment to be brought up again, but these are very unlikely. The political reality is that Hegseth will continue as Defense Secretary for the near future. Indeed, the House’s failure to impeach Hegseth only builds his political capital with President Donald Trump. As expected, House Republicans closed ranks behind Hegseth. What was not expected was that 11 House Democrats failed to show up to vote. If you do the simple arithmetic, it is clear that had the Democrats showed up the House would have been able to consider the impeachment charges against Hegseth.” (11/11/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/hakeem-jeffries-hegseth-impeachment-failure
- Don’t Relax Yet—Trump’s Iran Blockade Makes More War Likely
Source: The American Conservative
by Andrew Day“President Donald Trump, after threatening for weeks to bring the ‘hammer’ down on Iran, said Monday that a U.S. escalation is ‘unlikely’ and the war is ‘effectively over’ militarily. Antiwar voices breathed sighs of relief, and oil prices continued to plunge amid surging hopes of lasting peace. But there’s a big problem. Trump also says he’ll maintain America’s crushing economic pressure campaign against Tehran, including the naval blockade on Iranian ports. Not only is the blockade itself an act of war under international law, but the campaign makes a resumption of all-out hostilities more likely, regardless of the president’s intentions, experts told The American Conservative.” (11/11/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dont-relax-yet-trumps-iran-blockade-makes-more-war-likely/
- Campuses Need More Pluralism, Not Less
Source: Persuasion
by Eboo Patel“A faculty group calling itself ‘Uncivil’ recently criticized the people leading civility and pluralism programs that encourage college students to engage constructively across lines of difference on campus. I’m one of those program leaders. As the founder of the nation’s largest interfaith organization, Interfaith America, I’ve visited over 200 college campuses promoting pluralism—the conviction that people with different identities and divergent ideologies can respect one another, build relationships, and cooperate for the common good. The students we serve span the ideological spectrum. They might disagree profoundly about the Middle East, abortion, and religion, but they can still agree to work alongside people whose convictions differ from their own.” (11/11/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-civility-industrial-complex-is
- What Immigration Should Look Like
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson“There was an orderly process for admitting immigrants at Ellis Island. But immigrants who showed up at Ellis Island did not need an invitation—or permission—to do so. All they needed was a ticket on a ship going to New York City. … The arrival of[Stephen] Miller’s ancestors in the United States is not an example of aspiring immigrants complying with a cumbrous and Kafkaesque body of immigration regulation; it is an example of something close to the kind of extremely permissive immigration policy advanced in our time by certain libertarians …. I myself favor a more restrictive immigration policy than the one that was in place when Miller’s antecedents passed through Ellis Island, one that also is in some ways more restrictive than current practice and in some ways more liberal.” (11/11/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/immigration-miller-trump-ellis-island-illegal/
- The Corpse Has a Pulse
Source: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
by David Beckworth“Why reviving the moribund U.S. interbank market matters for monetary policy and financial stability.” (11/11/26)
https://macroeconomicpolicynexus.substack.com/p/the-corpse-has-a-pulse
- Chips Off the Old Block
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie“As a graduate of St Andrews, I take a keen interest in its doings. Scotland’s oldest university has started a new tradition. Every winter day it feeds trees into a furnace in a disused paper mill, then pumps the hot water four miles down the road to warm its laboratories. It calls this sustainability. A more skeptical observer might call it an expensive way to set fire to forests and public funds at the same time.” (11/11/26)
- California’s billionaire tax is dead, but the state’s paid a staggering price
Source: California Post
by staff“The ‘billionaire tax’ is officially dead. Voters rejected Proposition 40 by a wide margin, restoring hope for common-sense governance in the Golden State. This was a victory for economic growth, and jobs, and investment in the future. The United States has never had a wealth tax that would allow the government to seize what people had saved. Proposition 40 would have been the first. And it would have destroyed the startup culture that has made California’s economy the envy of the world. Voters understood that entrepreneurs would leave the state if Proposition 40 passed. Or they would sell their companies to pay the tax, sending stocks into freefall. As it is, Proposition 40 did plenty of damage simply by qualifying for the ballot. At least seven billionaires had already left the state by Election Day, with combined wealth of more than half a trillion dollars.” (11/10/26)
- Escaping The “Outside Criticism” Trap
Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Scott Alexander“Here’s a fun argument you can use to discredit anyone at any time. Start by calling them an arrogant fanatic with a totalizing ideology, someone who thinks they personally have solved all problems and can’t possibly learn from dissenting viewpoints. If they have friends who agree with them, they’re a cult who collectively work to shelter themselves from any dissenting viewpoint. Then your victim responds by presenting one hundred notarized affadavits describing times when they have engaged with their critics, spent years studying books by their critics to see what they could learn from them, and even changed their beliefs in response to criticism. Then you spring the trap: ‘Ah, but you cherry-picked critics who operate within your worldview, a sort of loyal opposition. You continue to dismiss and exclude genuine critics who challenge your smug assumptions.’ This always works.” (11/11/26)
https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/escaping-the-outside-criticism-trap
- Romney and DeSantis: A Study in Contrasts
Source: The Next Move
by Jay Nordlinger“We all have different ideas of staunchness and squishiness. [Mitt] Romney strikes me as admirably staunch—on the rule of law, a free economy, the national interest … He can be counted on to defend basic American values, as many of us conceive them. DeSantis? He’s apt to blow with the Republican wind. I would not call him a ‘total squish,’ as he called Romney. But I would not cite him as an example of spine.” (11/11/26)
https://www.thenextmove.org/p/romney-and-desantis-a-study-in-contrasts
- House Kills Massie’s Hegseth Impeachment With Procedural Vote—No Up-or-Down Vote on the Articles
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey“Yesterday’s parliamentary maneuver is yet another example of how Congress manipulates public perception through these obscure rules. Politicians use procedural votes to avoid taking a public stance on executive overreach. A direct vote forces accountability. A referral motion allows representatives to defeat a measure while claiming they want committee review. So Republicans are crowing that Massie defamed Hegseth, showing how his effort was defeated, but there was never an up-and-down vote on Massie’s articles. They use these tactics to fundraise and create media sound bites without doing the difficult work of governance. We need more up-and-down votes to show accountability of our members of Congress, rather than have them meekly shy away from answering the question.” (11/11/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/house-kills-massies-hegseth-impeachment
- How Inflation Fed the Slaughter of World War I
Source: The Daily Economy
by Jeffery L Degner“Today, Americans observe Veterans Day, originally known as Armistice Day, to honor those who have served in uniform. But World War I offers another lesson: how governments used borrowing and money printing to finance war, obscure its costs, and prolong the bloodshed.” (11/11/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/how-inflation-fed-the-slaughter-of-world-war-i/
- On January 3, Democrats run into reality
Source: Washington Post
by George F Will“Congress has a caucus for every cause — bicycles, snowboarding, baking, composting, aquaculture, soccer, rock-and-roll, and on and on. There are more caucuses, formal and informal, than members of Congress. Come January, many Democrats will compose what should be called the Cognitive Dissonance Caucus. In November, Democrats did well with voters, but beginning on Jan. 3, reality gets a vote. Consider four subjects: climate change, campaign finance, Medicare-for-all and racial gerrymandering.” (11/11/26)
- Zooming In, 11/11/26
Source: The UnPopulist
“End of History Doesn’t Mean Civil Rights Gains Can’t Be Lost: A Conversation With Francis Fukuyama.” (11/11/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/end-of-history-doesnt-mean-civil
- Kibbe on Liberty, episode 411
Source: Free the People
“Good Food Is Essential for Freedom | Guest: Mollie Engelhart.” (11/11/26)
- NPR Politics Podcast, 11/11/26
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“These voters say the election won’t change much.” (11/11/26)
https://www.npr.org/2026/11/11/nx-s1-6037391/these-voters-say-the-election-wont-change-much
- Fountainhead Forum, episode 511
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“David Beito on TRM Howard, Booker T Washington, and early civil rights advocates.” (11/11/26)
- Make It Make Sense, 11/11/26
Source: Washington Post
“David Wasserman: Why voters turned on Trump.” (11/11/26)
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 11/11/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Senators Call For Removal of US-Israel Integration, Funeral for 44 Killed in Saudi Strikes, and More.” (11/11/26)
- The David Frum Show, 11/11/26
Source: The Atlantic
“Can Republicans Quit Trump?” (11/11/26)
- The Tom Woods Show, episode 2812
Source: The Tom Woods Show
“Does the Math of AI Add Up?” (11/11/26)
- Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 11/11/26
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“Midterms, Anti-Politics, Infotainment, and the Question of Emancipation w/ Joseph Sciortino.” (11/11/26)
- The Kyle Anzalone Show, 11/11/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Kyle sits down with returning guest Nick Cleveland-Stout of Responsible Statecraft to unpack why the midterms look like a real-time referendum on the Iran war, and what it means when the ‘endless war’ consensus finally starts costing incumbents elections.” (11/11/26)
- Reason Interview: Matt Taibbi
Source: Reason
“Matt Taibbi discusses how political bias has undermined journalism, Trump’s failure to defend free speech, and the dangers of government-backed censorship.” (11/11/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/11/11/matt-taibbi-the-government-shouldnt-decide-whats-true/
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 11/11/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“EU Plans ‘Tripwire’ Troops To Ukraine – What Could Go Wrong?” (11/11/26)
- Kinsella on Liberty, episode 505
Source: StephanKinsella.com
“The Conflict Between AI and Copyright: World Liberty Summit 2026–Bolivia.” (11/11/26)
https://stephankinsella.com/as_paf_podcast/kol505-conflict-between-ai-and-copyright/
- Rising, 11/11/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on a Maryland woman who led the charge against the construction of a $5 billion data center project near her home.” (11/11/26)
- Free Speech Future, episode 4
Source: Expression
“How international regulation, platform power, and emerging technologies are reshaping the boundaries of online speech.” (11/11/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/episode-iv-bordering-on-censoring
- The Fifth Column, episode 583
Source: The Fifth Column
“Socialists Go to Washington, Trump Goes to Hell (w/ Michael Powell).” (11/11/26)
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/socialists-go-to-washington-trump
- Washington Monthly Podcast, 11/11/26
Source: Washington Monthly
“The Hard Road Ahead for the Democratic Majority.” (11/11/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/11/11/the-hard-road-ahead-for-the-democratic-majority/
- The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 11/11/26
Source: The Dispatch
“The Dispatch Moment | Interview: Steve Hayes.” (11/11/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/remnant/the-dispatch-moment-interview-steve-hayes/
- Reasonably Optimistic, 11/11/26
Source: Washington Post
“The immigration deal Trump should make.” (11/11/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/the-immigration-deal-trump-should-make/
- The Chris Hedges Report, 11/10/26
Source: The Chris Hedges Report
“We Need to Stop Trump’s Massive Military Spending Bill (w/ Jodie Evans).” (11/10/26)
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/we-need-to-stop-trumps-massive-military